Posts tagged mobile
The mobile ‘push’
Apr 1st
By Nestor E. Arellano
At one moment the giant video billboard on Time Square in New York was showing the picture of a nondescript building. The next moment, Toronto developer Adi Isakovic fiddled with the touchscreen of his iPhone to replace the image with a video clip of his miniature French Poodle, “Cookie.” A few second later, the image was replaced by a live stream video of Isakovic which was shot by his wife Tania with her own iPhone.
Nestor Arellano
The application, called TubeMote, was developed by Isakovic. It allows people using a smartphone or computer to control YouTube video playback on another machine. For this to happen, the target machine needs to be connected to the users TubeMote video account which contains the video.
It was not that the small screen of the iPhone itself is controlling the billboard, Isakovic explained, but rather the mobile device acting as a bridge between the TubeMote channel and the billboard.
Despite this explanation that appears to tone down the role of mobile devices, there is no denying how the tiny screens we hold in our hands daily are rapidly changing how the daily occurrences of our lives play out. Read the rest of this entry »
Taking privacy mobile: Embedding the principles of Privacy by Design
Mar 15th
Mobile technologies are increasingly ubiquitous, and provide us with growing opportunities to stay connected and informed from anywhere, at any time.
But these same technologies can raise significant privacy concerns. Some concerns arise from the general means of engagement with mobile phones – such as users’ propensity to always leave them on. Of course, this enables incoming phone calls and text messages to be received, and many other applications that are central to the functionality of mobile devices. But it may also enable activities such
Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
as location tracking, which can provide very accurate information about where the device’s owner goes over the course of the day, and when.
BlackBerry Dakota is RIM’s hail mary
Jan 14th
By Tony Bradley
Images and details of the BlackBerry Dakota–the impending flagship smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM)–have emerged. The Dakota is packed with features as RIM struggles desperately to regain lost ground and compete with the Apple iPhone and the rising Android invasion.
First, let’s take a look at what the Dakota has to offer. The BlackBerry smartphone is expected to have a 5MP camera with HD video recording, flash, and image stabilization. It will also have 768MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage space. The razor thin smartphone will have both a touchscreen and the trademark QWERTY keyboard, proximity sensor, accelerometer, magnetometer, near-field communications (NFC), Bluetooth, and more. Oh, and it will launch BlackBerry OS 6.1.
Reimagined keyboard for Android misses the mark
Dec 22nd
By Brent Rose
There are apps that I don’t want to like, but do. Then there are apps I do want to like, but don’t. The 8pen keyboard, unfortunately, belongs in this latter category. I’m a big fan of innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, but the developer needs to go back to the drawing board with this one.
8pen is a replacement keyboard unlike any other. It completely does away with the standard QWERTY keyboard and replaces it with a circle surrounded by four quadrants. Each quadrant has eight letters or symbols, each one selected by starting in the center circle, going in a certain direction, looping your finger either clockwise or counterclockwise for a certain number of degrees, and then returning to the center circle. Sound complicated? It is. In fact, trying to explain how it works exactly would take up the entirety of this review, so I’ll just say watch 8pen’s promo video, if you’re really interested.
Prepare to keep your iPad connected on the cheap
May 10th
If the million-plus sales of Apple’s iPad south of the border is any indication, many Canadians will be chomping the bit to pre-order the “magical” tablet computer May 10.
Apple is saying it will ship the devices to the Great White North May 28. There will be two versions available – the cheaper Wi-Fi version (starting at $549) and a more expensive Wi-Fi and 3G version (starting at $879). Canadian pricing details haven’t been released yet.
